Est 2016 Borough of Richmond upon Thames Edition 223

Contents TickerTape TwickerSeal C0VID-19 Borough View The George, Marble Hill Marvels Farewell & Good Luck Paul Martin Letters REMEMBER! £sd Twickers Foodie Reviews Traveller’s Tales WIZ Tales - Myanmar Film Screenings Football Focus

Contributors TwickerSeal Graeme Stoten Simon Fowler Alan Winter Maurice Parry-Wingfield Green Party Diabetes UK Alison Jee Mark Aspen St Mary’s University Richmond College Doug Goodman World InfoZone Shona Lyons Bruce Lyons Richmond Film Society James Dowden RFU NAO LBRuT

Editors Berkley Driscoll Teresa Read

12th February 2021 Blackbird, White Snow Photo by Berkley Driscoll TickerTape - News in Brief London Overground Sunday 14 February No service between Richmond and Willesden Junction Use Tube and local buses. Rail replacement buses will run between Gunnersbury and Willesden Junction.

Bushy Park Stampede A man has been charged after his dog caused a deer ‘stampede’ in . A ten year-old boy was injured and taken to hospital.

London Youth Games Virtual Inclusive Games is here! London Youth Games is back and will be putting disabled young Londoners at the heart of the competition for an eight-week virtual challenge series launching Tuesday 9 February. Richmond upon Thames won gold in the London Youth Games Virtual Cross-Country event last year and the borough is hoping to continue this success! This London Youth Games will feature inclusive challenges set by young disabled people with suggested adaptions to ensure as many young Londoners as possible can get involved. There will be three different weekly challenges released every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 9am on the website and on social media. Participants will then have until Monday at 12 noon to complete the challenges and submit their scores via the London Youth Games website.

New podcast episode: Policing COVID-19 Listen to the 10-minute Talk Richmond episode on policing COVID-19 with Inspector Rebecca Robinson, the Inspector for Richmond Neighbourhoods. Inspector Robinson talks about what the police are doing to help with the COVID-19 response, including how they are enforcing the rules and issuing fines to those flouting them.

Visit the News page for more stories

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For a timed appointment please call Sky Electrical on 020 8894 1799 22 Fifth Cross Road, Twickenham, Middlesex, TW2 5LF www.skyelectrical.co.uk www.TwickenhamTribune.com 12th February 2021 - Page 2 www.RichmondTribune.com Now that the council’s ‘consultation’ on Twickenham Riverside is over, TwickerSeal is casting his memory back to happier times. He remembers the opening of the Diamond Jubilee Gardens on 23rd June 2012, attended by HRH Princess Alexandra. TwickerSeal remembers that as a wonderful moment, where the council created an amenity solely for the enjoyment of residents and the wider public. TwickerDuck lamented that these gardens were to be replaced by a loose collection of landscaping and that the gardens would be lost under the council’s new lacklustre plans. TwickerMole was surprised that there had only been 824 responses to the council’s latest ‘consultation’. Considering that 4,776 people had signed a petition in favour of a new lido on the site, 2,984 had signed a petition in favour of a design proposal from the Twickenham Riverside Park Team and 1,910 had supported a 2009 referendum against housing on the site, this seemed like a paltry response and hardly a mandate for the council’s plans; particularly as this response represents a meagre 7% of the Twickenham Riverside Ward, let alone the wider Twickenham resident population.

www.TwickenhamTribune.com 12th February 2021 - Page 3 www.RichmondTribune.com Borough View By Graeme Stoten ‘Snowfall in Kneller’

Snow falls over Kneller Gardens, Meadway, West Twickenham. A popular place for Sports, Children’s playgrounds and Nature preservation, the Park now surrenders to a light dusking of snow and the resulting contrast of dark veteran boughs and ceramic white skies.

www.TwickenhamTribune.com 12th February 2021 - Page 4 www.RichmondTribune.com COVID-19 Teresa Read

From the World Health Organization: The independent expert team to study the origins of the COVID-19 virus has completed its trip to China. The expert team is working on a summary report which we hope will be published next week, and the full final report will be published in the coming weeks.

The number of reported cases of COVID-19 globally has declined for the fourth week in a row, and the number of deaths also fell for the second consecutive week. These declines appear to be due to countries implementing public health measures more stringently.

Earlier this week, WHO held a global meeting of patients, clinicians and other stakeholders to advance our understanding of what is officially called post-COVID-19 condition, or “long COVID”. WHO released a case reporting form that will allow more data to be collected on long COVID in a standardized way. This will help to improve the understanding, surveillance and clinical management of the condition.

The Neanderthal Connection In the Covid article, Edition 195 of the Tribune, there was referral to interbreeding between our distant ancestors and archaic humans, such as Neanderthals and Denisovans and how this may affect our health today in the COVID-19 pandemic.

(It should be noted that the evidence that Homo sapiens interbred with Neanderthals did not first emerge until 2010).

Since then, further articles have been published in relation to the above Tribune article.

On 30 September 2020 Nature published the article The major genetic risk factor for severe COVID-19 is inherited from Neanderthals: “These risk factors, however, do not fully explain why some people have no or mild symptoms whereas others have severe symptoms. Thus, genetic risk factors may have a role in disease progression.”

However, on 6 October 2020 the following was published on bioRxiv: A genetic variant protective for COVID-19 is inherited from Neanderthals but of more moderate effect than the risk haplotype.”

Then on 6 January 2021 Reuters reported “A specific form of a protein passed down from Neanderthals protects against severe COVID-19, and medications that boost levels of this protein could potentially help treat the disease, according to a study reported on medRxiv”.

Clearly there is much research relating to COVID-19 and it seems that early migrations may play a part in understanding the disease.

Further reading: Resources, African Origins, World InfoZone https://worldinfozone.com/features.php?section=AfricanOriginsResources www.TwickenhamTribune.com 12th February 2021 - Page 5 www.RichmondTribune.com COVID-19

Avoid places where the three Cs come together Crowds, Closed spaces, Close contact

Follow strict personal hygiene advice, wear a mask and keep indoor areas well ventilated

DO IT ALL

www.twickenhamtribune.com Cases of COVID-19 Total cases to 12 February 2021 10,092 Richmond upon Thames 11,405 Kingston upon Thames 22,836 Hounslow Countries with High Numbers of Deaths Recorded by the World Health Organization Deaths Worldwide 2,355,339

USA 468,051 Peru 42,859 Brazil 234,850 Poland 40,177 Mexico 169,760 Indonesia 32,381 India 155,447 Turkey 27,093 The United Kingdom 114,851 Ukraine 24,058 Italy 92,338 Belgium 21,512 France 80,032 Canada 21,004 Russian Federation 78,687 Chile 19,262 Spain 63,704 Romania 19,135 Germany 63,635 Czechia 17,772 Iran 58,751 Ecuador 15,174 Colombia 56,733 Portugal 14,718 Argentina 49,674 Netherlands 14,589 South Africa 47,145 Hungary 13,444

www.TwickenhamTribune.com 12th February 2021 - Page 6 www.RichmondTribune.com The George, Twickenham By Simon Fowler The George in King Street, Twickenham is probably the town’s oldest surviving pub. It has been trading for nearly three hundred years. The Inn and the adjacent houses at 34-36 King Street are listed Grade II. Although, the building has been much altered a close inspection reveals something of its past. 32 King Street is a much altered late seventeenth century building, although it is likely that the George itself was no established until the 1730s. The George was Twickenham’s premier coaching inn. When Horace Walpole was trying to find the highwayman, who had held up his coach in 1782 he interviewed the ostler at the George because he had been told that the man had left his horse there. Walpole then falsely accused a corn-factor, who was dining at the inn, of being the robber. In 1823, it became a stop on the short-lived Royal Clarence stage-coach route George Inn 1860 which ran from the Red Lion Inn near Hampton Court to the New Inn at the Old Bailey twice daily. The promoters promised potential customers ‘New and Elegant Four-Inside Post Coaches’. Until well into the nineteenth century the George was Twickenham’s largest commercial building. As a result, it hosted a wide range of events. Many auctions of land and houses took place there. In May 1802, it saw the sale of ‘five substantial and sashed dwelling houses with bow windowed shops in the most eligible part of the town for trade.’ Coroners’ courts would occasionally meet at the George to investigate suicides and other suspicious deaths. In 1853, an unidentified body was retrieved from the Thames and taken to the pub to await the coroner of a man who had ‘in his pocket a tobacco box, fair complexion, and is supposed to be a bricklayer.’ But most importantly it fed and provided beds for locals and strangers alike. Ralph Raylance’s Epicures Almanack, published in 1815, commended the George to his readers: [it]] may be relied on for everything that an inn ought to afford – good accommodations, good cheer and kind welcome.’ You occasionally get a flavour of this from the newspapers. There appeared an appeal in the Morning Post for May 1805 for the return of a short ‘black and white pointer’ who was last seen ‘to follow two persons in a gig from the George to London.’ A guinea was offered as a reward for her return. Not all the customers were honest of course. A swindler ‘dressed in the garb of a gentleman’ and calling himself ‘Captain Shaw’deceived local tradesmen during the summer of 1840. He ‘borrowed’ a pound from the owner of the George Inn, which he used as a deposit on some etchings taken from an art dealer, which he then tried to sell ‘as undoubted masters by the old masters’ at the Black Horse pub, at Richmond, for two guineas. www.TwickenhamTribune.com 12th February 2021 - Page 7 www.RichmondTribune.com Marble Hill Horticultural Marvels Snowdrops

The grounds of have been covered in snowflakes. Most have disappeared under the light of the sun, but the last-remaining particles are still hanging on the branches. A few flowers have grown between the patches of ice. One of these flowers is the humble snowdrop, whose petals appear long before those of the later blooming stars of Bethlehem or the lilies of the Nile.

The galanthus nivalis - or the common snowdrop - is native to the varying climates of the Northern Hemisphere. Sub-alpine variants have grown in the woodlands of the Caucasus, and the Crimean snowdrops of the British Isles are said to have been a remnant of the war. It was not until the eighteenth century, or so I have read, that the plants first appeared in the United Kingdom. To the Victorians, the snowdrop was a harbinger of death and it would bring nothing but misfortune to carry one into your home.

Snowdrops have been peeping their brave little heads through the snow at Marble Hill this week.

It is said that the farmers of have often planted snowdrops near their cottages. The pale flowers- which may appear as minute lanterns - would have helped them to find their way home during the hours of a wintery night. The snowdrop has also been associated with the Christian holy day of Candlemas. Their flowers would have been sprinkled around an altar after they had been cut from the gardens of the church.

The humble snowdrops have long been beloved by travellers. Their pale flowers have often been cut or traded, and many have been carried on voyages across the land. It is said, however, that many of their micro species are slowly disappearing. In the meadows of Hungary and Romania, it is the common snowdrop that is disappearing from the wild.

A snowdrop is short-lived and their petals will soon have perished. The flowers of spring will soon reoccur. Yet this particular year, perhaps, the snowdrops are a symbol for a variety of wishes. One may be that their sight does not become a relic. The humble snowdrops are an ancient contributor to the biodiversity of our fields. www.TwickenhamTribune.com 12th February 2021 - Page 8 www.RichmondTribune.com Farewell, and Good Luck, to Paul Martin Teresa Read Our Chief Executive Officer, Paul Martin, is off to Jersey in the Channel Islands to fulfil an interim role as Chief Executive of The Government of Jersey. Although the weather is not so good at the moment Paul has the prospect of a sunny warm spring with St Helier Marina not far away from the office. The beaches and countryside are a far cry from the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames (and our Shared Staffing partner the Borough of Wandsworth). And for Paul in St Helier there is always the prospect of a quick sprint away from the sea to Howard Davis Park to hear the brass band playing. The great thing about Jersey, like Gibraltar, is that nothing is very far away, and you do not need a car to get around St Helier. Living near the sea is also very relaxing, with plenty of beaches if you want to go for a swim, or surf at St Ouens Bay, or laze on St Brelade’s beach. Again, like Gibraltar, the language is English so it is a good alternative to some of the popular European destinations, and near enough for a short break. For those of us at home in Twickenham we can consider our link with Jersey (just as we have a *link with Gibraltar): The Queen’s Hall [9 King Street] is probably best remembered for the stage debut of Lillie Langtry, the Prince of Wales’ former mistress. This took place on November 19 1881, on an evening described in the local Press as a “Grand Dramatic Performance – a brilliant success”. Good luck to Paul in Jersey, and we hope that those of us in Twickenham are left with the prospect of a transformation of Twickenham Riverside, within sight of historic Queen’s Hall, where we can enjoy a beautiful riverside designed for the enjoyment of local people who may not be able to get away. However, all may not be plain sailing in Jersey. Outgoing CEO Charlie Parker is reported in the Jersey Evening Post on 9 February as saying: “It is a fantastic job in a fantastic place … ‘But I would also say to come in with your eyes open – there are a lot of people who don’t want you to succeed; there are a lot of people whose whole objective is to ensure that the status quo is maintained.” Mr Parker went on to say “Mr Martin would need to continue with the process of making changes, because that was what Islanders wanted.” Lillie Langtry, 1885 World InfoZone: Jersey: “The Jersey Lily” https://worldinfozone.com/features.php?section=Jersey Queen’s Hall (Bu’Sen) The venue of Lillie Langtry’s stage debut https://www.memoriesoftwickenhamriverside.com/queens_hall. html World InfoZone: *Gibraltar https://worldinfozone.com/facts.php?country=Gibraltar www.TwickenhamTribune.com 12th February 2021 - Page 9 www.RichmondTribune.com Letters Dear Letters Editor,

Cycling

The treatment of cyclists by some drivers used to shock me; now, it seems, some cyclists are doing the same to pedestrians.

Following a discussion on the dangers of cycling to pedestrians among the Committee of the Residents’ Association, on 21 May 2020 I wrote on TPRA’s behalf to Munira Wilson, MP, at that time LDP spokesperson on Health and Transport. The concerns and suggestions expressed were very clearly national, including a request to pass them on to the Transport Secretary, which was ignored. Ms Wilson’s reply (15.06.2020, Case Ref: MW2894) ended with: “Lockdown has seen a huge increase in the number of people enjoying cycling in our borough, and their safety is incredibly important. I have forwarded your email to Councillor Alex Ehmann, who is better placed for dealing with your concerns.”

During August 2020, Cllr Ehmann undertook an exchange of emails with the TPRA Chairman Colin Hines, best summarised in the following:

“[Cllr Ehmann] 1) having lived just beside Twickenham Park for the past 7 years or so and have to say that I have only ever witnessed considerate and slow cycling along this route.

“[Colin Hines] Having lived in Twickenham Park for most of the last fifty years, I and other members of the TPRA have witnessed some very dangerous and inconsiderate examples of cyclists not taking the safety of pedestrians into account, whilst for example virtually never having or using bells to warn pedestrians that they are approaching them. Although this of course is not the case for the majority of cyclists, it is the actions of the dangerous few that require addressing.”

To the best of my knowledge, these exchanges have been forgotten. I hope the recent correspondence in your publication will revive the topic. In the meantime, I was exposed to insulting and threatening behaviour by a cyclist when I politely pointed out that he had just ridden past a NO CYCLING notice.

When I returned to the UK from ten years in China, I looked forward to being able to contribute again to public affairs as a citizen. The above is one of a number of experiences which suggest that this aim appears to be unrealisable. The letters you have published seem to reinforce this: should elected representatives not take seriously what their electors tell them?

Yours sincerely, Rodney Mantle Twickenham

www.TwickenhamTribune.com 12th February 2021 - Page 10 www.RichmondTribune.com Letters

Dear Editors, Twickenham Riverside As the Council’s Brief for the redevelopment of Twickenham Riverside laudably states: This beautiful stretch of the has been awaiting a design that can showcase the riverside as a destination for people to live, play, work, enjoy and thrive. I think we would all agree with this statement. But the riverside is already a destination in which people live, play, work, enjoy and thrive and it is important that the Council attaches equal importance to their ability to continue without jeopardising their way of life by any inappropriate planning decisions. Let me share with you a list of riverside users and boatyard businesses that already exist on Twickenham Riverside – a list drawn up and updated by Helen Montgomery-Smith, who owns one of the boatyards on . It astonished those of us who watched her presentation of this a few years ago, and I think will come as a surprise to many of your readers. • Eel Pie Slipways Ltd - 2 slipways for craft of 50-120ft for maintenance and repair and • provides moorings alongside pontoon and piles • Eel Pie Boatyard Ltd – Dry dock for vessels up to 100ft and Hard Standing for leisure craft • between 16-45ft for maintenance and repair, provides moorings alongside pontoon and • piles • Phoenix Wharf – 1 Slipway for boats of 50-70ft. • Lion Boathouse - 3 small slipways for craft less than 30ft. • Mark at eelpieboatyard - Trot moorings for 9 vessels boat and engine repairs/towing. • – Large active rowing club for all ages 500 members. Eel Pie Island Stand-up Paddle Boarding Club. • Richmond Yacht Club - Active club of 200 members for recreational boaters with quayside on Ham side of Eel Pie Island and a venue for hire for non members. • Twickenham Yacht Club – active club situated on the Embankment Twickenham-2 dinghy parks, trot moorings, pontoons. Stand-up Paddle Boarding Club. • Cruisemasters - Hard standing Slipway and mooring facility, Ham side of Eel Pie Island. • Ivy Castle - Short slipway and small tidal dock Ham side of Eel Pie Island. • Francis Francis Angling Club – 8 punts moored along the embankment wall with ancient • mooring right club founded in 1906 • P Walsh - Piling and River Works. • Leisure users - Shallow draft recreational Vessels for short term mooring to Town centre. Both the Twickenham Rowing Club and the Richmond Yacht Club have function rooms for parties, wedding receptions, yoga clubs, discos etc. - essential lettings for them to be able to balance their books. It is crucial that the particular needs of all these well-established river-related businesses and users are fully understood before any planning application is submitted. To date, this has not yet been accomplished. And it is debatable whether the current design actually “showcases the river as a destination”. Sue Hamilton-Miller Twickenham

www.TwickenhamTribune.com 12th February 2021 - Page 11 www.RichmondTribune.com Letters

Dear Tribune,

TfL ULEZ

On 1 February, Richmond Council held an online meeting about Transport for London’s new Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ, starting 25 October) in which the guests were TfL’s representatives Alex Williams and a Ms. Batey.

This meeting was well moderated by Cllr. Alex Ehmann but the performances and attitudes of the TfL representatives were typical of local government’s dictatorial and condescending attitude towards decent people whom they profess to represent.

Mr. Williams started by saying that he did not know Richmond very well. That in itself was a pretty poor portent which he had the nerve to repeat later and which made us wonder why he was there. When Castelnau was mentioned, he had never heard of it and dismissed worries about being closed for six years.

Of course, we all want cleaner air but no reasonable objection by residents was conceded.

Every concern expressed was immediately dismissed – even one from residents whose road bordered the ULEZ which meant that they couldn’t even leave their own road without paying the £12:50 charge!

A large number of questions were put by residents but very few were answered satisfactorily.

The ULEZ does not affect me but I immediately wrote to TfL asking them to show some consideration for the people who actually live here. No response, of course – nor do I expect one.

Mr Williams said that this is not a moneymaking scheme but is purely intended to reduce vehicle emissions. But if that were true they would not be charging you £12.50 just to take your rubbish to the dump, care for your elderly relatives, or visit the doctor.

There are absolutely no exceptions.

This plan will be forced upon us all by people who don’t live here, like Mr. Williams.

He even had the nerve to say that we don’t need cars because Richmond has excellent public transport – he has obviously never travelled on SouthWest Trains/Railways, a so-called ‘service’ which is totally unreliable especially on a dark winter’s night in the rain and snow.

I cannot now park near Strawberry Hill station to take the train into Kingston or Richmond because, although there used to be plenty of space, Richmond Council made it a controlled parking zone and the RingGo parking system does not work properly. I know, because I have www.TwickenhamTribune.com 12th February 2021 - Page 12 www.RichmondTribune.com twice missed trains while trying to make it work. So I use my car.

All part of our wonderful public transport system.

Cllr. Ehmann gave the impression that Richmond Council is still negotiating with TfL about the details but I’m not holding my breath because anything that reduces the demon of car travel will be approved. Of course, once cars have been taxed out of existence, then so will your electric car, bicycle and E-scooter. Then we’ll all be paying to use our feet, or maybe a horse. Then we’ll really be in the you-know-what.

The Times (8 Feb 2021) reported research which suggests that half a million motorists in London and Birmingham face being priced off the road as a result of clean air zone charges including the ULEZ by the South Circular near Richmond.

That means food supplies, tradesmen, and others who work at all hours including emergency services, doctors, and hospital staff if their cars don’t comply.

Can they all use public transport? Of course not.

Can they all afford new cars? Of course not.

Does TfL care? Of course not.

And all this by the London mayor who has not been re-elected. That was another question which went unanswered by TfL.

And TfL’s so-called survey of 37,000 people is hardly representative of the 196,000 people who live in Richmond. I never even received it, just like the survey of 10,000 people for the 20mph speed limit which is only 5% of the borough’s population.

As in any dictatorship, every oppressive imposition is done ‘for the benefit of the people’, even if it ruins their lives.

Just like the partition of India in 1947 – and we all know the bitterness and bad feeling that that caused.

But the Mayor of London and TfL simply don’t care enough about people’s feelings to listen to them and represent them.

The big question is – does Richmond Council?

Roll on the GLA elections for the Mayor of London and London Assembly Members on 6 May!

Michael Jay Richmond

www.TwickenhamTribune.com 12th February 2021 - Page 13 www.RichmondTribune.com Letters Dear Editor

The Twickenham Riverside Site

I must commend Mr Velluet’s excellent letter in your last issue.

May I also add that the Riverside development provides an opportunity to address, albeit in a small way, the issue of the disgraceful lack of public toilets in the borough.

It still surprises and disappoints me that clean and well maintained public toilets are not provided as a matter of course -as they are in many other towns in the UK and in Europe. They are such a basic facility, essential to civilised behaviour and hygiene. It is also self evident that many people will not use our local shopping centres if they do not have access to these facilities. Even before the pandemic, the so called Community Toilets Scheme was a lamentable failure. Did the Council really expect those in most need - the elderly and parents with small children - to go into pubs and restaurants and ask to use their toilets?

Would it be too much to ask that the Council stop being equivocal and make a firm commitment that such facilities will be provided and maintained by them in any development of the Riverside site?

Yours

William Stewart New bench appeal for Pembroke Lodge Gardens

The Royal Parks is replacing benches within Pembroke Lodge Gardens. Many of the benches are over 40 years old and their condition is such that they now need to be replaced.

It is often the case that we no longer hold valid contact details for families of older benches. If you or one of your family members has a bench dedication within Pembroke Lodge Gardens that dates back more than 12 years and you are interested in re-dedicating then please get in touch as soon as possible.

If you are interested in dedicating one of these new benches please email us at [email protected] or call 0300 061 2290. More information about bench tributes can be found at www.royalparks.org.uk/tributes www.TwickenhamTribune.com 12th February 2021 - Page 14 www.RichmondTribune.com Happy Valentine’s Day

A Valentine’s card published around 116 years ago (circa 1905). Courtesy of Alan Winter Half-term fun…..from the doorstep!

There are a host of fun activities planned throughout half-term for children, young people and their families – all on the doorstep.

Achieving for Children has a programme of virtual events to keep young minds busy. This includes online art, sports, music, parkour, cooking and photography sessions, as well as wellbeing support.

In addition, Richmond libraries service has launched Cover Story, a book review competition for young people aged 11-14. Submit your winning book review and be in with the chance of winning a £20 book token.

Visit Richmond has a host of other activities during half-term, including: • Starry, Starry Night – an online workshop with the about the universe and constellation • Making your own pottery kit at home with the Happy Potter in • How to make your own tote bag with Royal Parks • Young photographer competition with Marble Hill House www.TwickenhamTribune.com 12th February 2021 - Page 15 www.RichmondTribune.com Snow scene, Hammerton’s boat yard By Maurice Parry-Wingfield

www.TwickenhamTribune.com 12th February 2021 - Page 16 www.RichmondTribune.com REMEMBER! £sd Doug Goodman remembers the change-over to decimal currency fifty years ago.

On Monday 15th February 1971 the UK adopted decimal currency and said farewell to an odd assortment of coins. The old currency, with us since Roman times, was replaced by pounds and pence. Can you remember the old denominations? The pound was divided into 480 half pennies, 240 pennies, 80 three penny pieces, 40 six penny coins, 20 shilling First New Pence Coins coins, 10 florins or two shilling coins, 8 half crowns and two ten shilling notes. And then there were guineas which were one pound and one shilling. Looking back it must have been so confusing for foreign visitors.

Try this sum: if you had in your piggy bank the following coins how much did you have in ‘old’ money? 120 half penny coins, 60 penny coins, four three penny pieces, two sixpenny coins, two florins and four half crowns. And what would this be in today’s money? Answers to the editor on the back of an old ten shilling note please.

In Roman times a pound in weight of silver was divided in 240 pence or denarius, which is where the ‘d’ in Lsd came from. Lsd stood for Librum, solidus and denarius. In 1824 the Government considered changing to decimal currency but nothing happened until 1969 when the decimal currency board was established. New decimal coins of 5p, 10p and 50p were introduced three years before the change-over to help the public’s familiarisation. Banks were shut for four days, currency converters were issued and prices shown in both old and new money for a while. The Mint had 200 million new coins ready for the change. Fifty years on there are plenty of old coins available to buy but usually above their face value. Two shilling and half crown coins produced over 100 years ago contain silver and those in good condition can be valuable. Likewise old bank notes are collectors’ items: recently at auction a ten shilling note with a low issue number sold for £45.

Pre-decimal Currency Old Prices www.TwickenhamTribune.com 12th February 2021 - Page 17 www.RichmondTribune.com Green Party pushes for joined-up thinking on traffic around Richmond and Bushy Parks

The Green Party has set out proposals to ease traffic in and around Richmond and Bushy Parks. While aiming to protect the parks from increased congestion, the proposals go further, tackling the knock-on effects of reducing through traffic.

In response to The Royal Parks’ Movement Strategies for and Bushy Park, the Richmond & Twickenham Green Party has released a set of suggested actions to help ease traffic, improve air quality and encourage active travel in the borough.

The document incorporates calls for: • improved bike parking and introduction of electric or hydrogen-powered minibus services for both parks; • the introduction of car parking charges in both parks; • an end to free and subsidised car parking in Council-owned car parks; • a car sharing system; • better links between Ham and Richmond Station; • lobbying for a new walking and cycling bridge across the river; • an extended ferry service; • lobbying for a new station in the Hamptons; • more controlled parking zones; • trials and consultation around pedestrianizing shopping streets.

Green Party Councillor Andree Frieze, says:

“It is vital that we protect our green spaces, but in doing so, we can’t lose sight of the knock-on effects of cutting through traffic. The transport infrastructure around both Richmond and Bushy Parks is already stretched to breaking point with record visitor levels to the parks last year.

I would like us to use this opportunity to address the growing pressures on surrounding roads, helping tackle the climate emergency and creating a vision for more sustainable travel and happier communities into the bargain. We can work towards healthier streets as well as healthier green spaces.”

View the full response HERE www.TwickenhamTribune.com 12th February 2021 - Page 18 www.RichmondTribune.com www.TwickenhamTribune.com 12th February 2021 - Page 19 www.RichmondTribune.com Ed’s Channel swim challenge to raise funds for Diabetes UK

Ed Horne, a 65-year-old company director from Barnes, west London, raised over £25,000 for Diabetes UK and three other charities with an attempt to swim the Channel.

Ed swam for 12 hours and 42 minutes in rough seas and through the night during the attempt last July before having to abort the challenge just three miles from the French coast when he ran into breathing difficulties. He has now finished fundraising and has made donations to his four chosen charities.

Ed decided to undertake the challenge following a conversation with and in honour of his older sister, now deceased, who had had an unfulfilled ambition as a teenager to swim the Channel.

Ed wanted to help Diabetes UK because his older brother, David, died in his early 60s having lived the last years of his life severely debilitated by diabetes and kidney failure.

Ed prepared for the swim by training in a mixture of heated and unheated pools, lakes, rivers and the sea and by completing other long sea swims - Spain to Morocco (across the Gibraltar Straits) in June 2017, Lake Windermere end to end (10.5 miles) in July 2018 and he also took part in a four-person relay across the English Channel in September 2018.

Then came 2020 and, as Ed says: “Just as I was about to up my training regime, COVID-19 and Lockdown started and swimming was no longer permitted anywhere.’

“The good news was that I was able to get back into the water in mid-May and after 10 weeks of brutally intensive training, I stood on Samphire Hoe beach at 7.12pm on Wednesday, 29 July looking out to sea and about to start my attempt to swim to France.”

Although Ed did not quite make it to France, he looks back on the experience positively. “I am immensely proud of what I achieved. From the start, I had to swim through three hours of brutally rough seas. I then swam through the night including swimming through both busy shipping lanes and the separation zone. There were only three attempts that night, the first quit after four hours, the second after ten hours and I was left as ‘the last man swimming.

‘I’m still contemplating those last three miles, I would like that ‘I made it to France t-shirt!’’

Roz Rosenblatt, London Head at Diabetes UK, said: “We’re so grateful to Ed for his heroic efforts on our behalf and for his determination to overcome the challenges of Lockdown. www.TwickenhamTribune.com 12th February 2021 - Page 20 www.RichmondTribune.com Buyers invited for site Following the Council’s adoption of a planning framework for the Kneller Hall site in Whitton last year the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is now inviting buyers to put forward bids to purchase the site. Following the Council’s adoption of a planning framework for the Kneller Hall site in Whitton last year the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is now inviting buyers to put forward bids to purchase the site. In 2016, the MoD, which owns the site, announced its intention to sell Kneller Hall as part of a wider programme to rationalise the MoD estate. As a result, the Council was successful in securing funding from Government as part of the One Public Estate initiative to create a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) for the site. This was adopted by the Council last year having listened to peoples’ views on how the site could be developed. The SPD builds on the Council’s adopted planning policies for the site to ensure that any future development makes a positive contribution to both Whitton and the wider community and respects the important history of the site. The new owners will be expected to take the SPD into account in the development of their proposals for the site and it will form part of the Council’s considerations when determining any future planning application. Cllr Julia Neden-Watts, Chair of the Environment, Sustainability, Culture and Sports Services Committee for Richmond Council, said: ‘We have always been clear that Richmond Council would rather not see the Royal Military School of Music leave Kneller Hall. However, it is not in our gift to change the fact that they are leaving. Therefore, it is important to ensure that what happens next with the site results in a positive legacy for both Whitton and the wider borough. Kneller Hall has a unique place at the heart of the Whitton community. The Kneller Hall SPD sets out our aspirations for the site, including new community uses, homes and employment and the creation of a public park for the people of Whitton to enjoy. We look forward to proposals that will enhance the mature landscape and offer a viable long-term use for the Grade II listed Hall, reflecting its heritage significance and cultural legacy.’ Catherine Davies, Head of Estates for Defence infrastructure Organisation for the MOD, added: ‘Kneller Hall lends itself to a mix of fascinating development opportunities and the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) is pleased to be marketing this unique site in South West London. The sale is part of an ambitious 25-year plan to release surplus military property and modernise the retained estate. The publication of the Kneller Hall Supplementary Planning Guidance last year was down to strong collaboration between DIO and Richmond Council with support from the One Public Estate partnership. I’m delighted that we have agreed guidelines for acceptable future development to support the future use of this historic site and the opportunities this will bring to the Borough of Richmond.’ The Kneller Hall building that we know today was created in the late 1840’s on the site of the country residence of the Court painter, Sir Godfrey Kneller. Kneller Hall itself is Grade II Listed, as are the boundary walls, which means that they are afforded protection. A large part of the site is designated as Metropolitan Open Land, giving it the same status as Green Belt land, which means that this part of the site should be protected from development. In addition, the Council has given legal protection to over 300 trees on the site.

www.TwickenhamTribune.com 12th February 2021 - Page 21 www.RichmondTribune.com Church Street News By Shona Lyons

Well, the excitement of the filming is over. It was actually for Ted Lasso Season 2 which is an American Comedy series streaming on Apple and made by Warner. They are filming in South West London until May. We thought it was just going to be a small shot of Mojos window which they had decorated and designed as a Doll shop but in fact on the day it was pretty big! With signs for the catering and signs for the loos and signs for the location manager!! They had rented our office too and had made quite a few deals with other traders in the street too and I had to come briefly to the office to help someone who needed the ladder so I was here for a short time as they were finishing and saw a large camera crew with all sorts of cast and all kind of equipment moving up the street from the bottom on mass & it did look like quite a big deal after all. But they have gone now and calm has returned to this little street again. The daffodils & tulips we planted in the planters and around the square and at Pulcinella are starting to come out, so Spring is definitely round the corner even if we have had this very cold spell. I took lots of shots of Church Street & around when the snow fell these last few times. Church Street does look exceptionally pretty in the snow. We put flags up for the start of Six Nations Rugby last weekend for the V Scotland game. Scotland actually won that for a change. Must have been a real boost for their fans! We are putting up the flags for England V Italy for Saturday and on Sunday morning will put up the Valentine flags, weather permitting. Quite a few traders have all kind of products for Valentines and promotions for the day. I know that Tsaretta Spice is opening especially for Takeaway as is Pulcinella and Masaniello. Snax, Rosie Chai and Corto will be open Sunday too for takeaway & I think Bazil and Ruby is still offering grooming and many of the other retail gift shops, Mojo, Miss Pretty London, Allissias Attic & Vape Shack are offering click and collect and appointments can be booked at either of the Estate Agents Milestone & Collis and Madison Brook International. Also, the Brewery Market will also be open for Take-away. www.TwickenhamTribune.com 12th February 2021 - Page 22 www.RichmondTribune.com Become a COVID-19 Community Champion and help keep people safe and informed A new campaign aimed at providing timely, easy to understand and reliable information about COVID-19 and vaccinations is to launch in Richmond upon Thames - and the Council is encouraging local people to take part. The new COVID-19 Community Information Champions scheme aims to recruit individuals who live or work in the borough and want to help make a difference in their community by ensuring people are kept up to date with the latest COVID-19 information and guidance, including the roll out of the vaccine programme. By having and sharing good and useful information, COVID-19 Community Champions make it possible for their community, family and friends, to make informed choices that help stop the spread of the virus and that may save lives. Anyone can volunteer to contribute – you don’t need any previous experience - and you will be given everything you need to carry out your role effectively by the Council, its Public Health team and the NHS. You might be a person that lots of people know and trust; you might be involved in a community group or organisation; you might have lots of family that live in the borough; you might be involved in a popular business – whatever it is, you just need a willingness to help others and to work with likeminded individuals. If this sounds like something you would like to do, please visit COVID Community Champions and fill in the quick registration form. We are also keen for COVID-19 Community Champions to share their own stories and experiences of the pandemic to reiterate the importance of everyone playing their part and following the rules and guidance. Cllr Gareth Roberts, Leader of Richmond Council, said: “This network of volunteers will be instrumental in helping those harder to reach people have accurate information about COVID-19 and the vaccine programme. Unfortunately, fake news can cost lives and this network will help counter this. The Council, its Public Health team and its NHS partners will guide volunteers through the process and will ensure sharing the information is as easy as possible. This programme has proved successful in other areas of the country. We are doing our best to share as much information as possible across our own channels – but it’s never as effective as someone you trust giving you the information you need to stay safe. Please play your part and register your interest in becoming a COVID-19 Community Champion.” Dr Patrick Gibson, GP Borough Lead for Richmond, said: “The NHS is in the middle of delivering the biggest immunisation programme in our history and, by supporting Richmond’s Community Champions, we are really keen to channel the enthusiasm of residents for the vaccine and the desire to get everyone protected. You don’t need any special qualifications or to know the right people to be a Community Champion, you just need to have strong roots in our communities with lots of local friends, links or contacts so you can help keep us everyone up to date with the latest guidance and how we’re getting on rolling out vaccinations.”

www.TwickenhamTribune.com 12th February 2021 - Page 23 www.RichmondTribune.com Twickers Foodie - By Alison Jee CHINESE NEW YEAR, VALENTINE’S AND SHROVE TUESDAY

We’ve a busy few days ahead: It’s Chinese New Year this weekend, and that coincides with Valentine’s Day on Sunday. Just to add to our confusion, it’s Shrove Tuesday next week too!

If you haven’t already arranged an indulgent and special meal delivery for Valentine’s, you might be too late. But there are plenty of meal deals around in our supermarkets and you may be lucky finding a local pub or restaurant that will take a last-minute Valentine’s delivery booking. But all is not lost: I’ve found you a lovely recipe from Steven Edwards, the chef at The Bingham Riverhouse. It’s suitably romantic, and can be prepared in advance and enjoyed with a glass of fizz. You can buy oysters at most good fishmongers, but if you don’t like them, the recipe will still be delicious without! I noticed that Lidl is selling heart-shaped sourdough pizzas this weekend, which are perfect for sharing with the kids for a family Valentine’s get together.

It’s hard to produce a savoury Chinese meal without soy sauce, and although in fact Japanese, Kikkoman is usually the name that springs to mind for soy condiments. I’ve found a lovely recipe for Chilli Beef & Mushroom stir-fry (see below) that will make a delicious family meal for Valentine’s or Chinese New Year (halve the ingredients if cooking for two). 2021 is the Chinese Year of the Ox, so the perfect excuse for a tasty beef stir-fry. The company makes a range of different sauces and to make this Chinese New Year meal really sizzle, you could use its Teriyaki Stir-fry Sauce with Toasted Sesame or with Roasted Garlic. At the end of cooking, pour straight from the bottle into the wok, stir for a minute and serve,

I noticed that as well, of course, as its great value Valentine meal deal, and heart-shaped sausages, Marks & Spencer currently has an assortment of ready made pancakes (sweet and savoury) if you are feeling really lazy! But if you want to make your own on Tuesday, and make something rather special, do have a look at the Bonne Maman website where they have lots of recipes and ideas.

Cured Salmon with Crème Fraiche, Pink Grapefruit, Oysters & Dill 200g Salmon fillet (Skin off) 20g Table Salt 20g Caster Sugar 50ml Crème Fraiche 4 Fresh Oysters 1 Pink Grapefruit Fresh dill

• First of all mix the salt and sugar together • Make sure the salmon has no bones and skin before rolling the salmon like a fruit pastil in the sugar and salt mix • Place on to plate and cling film before refrigerating for 10 hours www.TwickenhamTribune.com 12th February 2021 - Page 24 www.RichmondTribune.com • Once the salmon is cured, wash off the salt and sugar mix and pat dry • Slice in to 6 nice slices ready to serve later • This dish works just as well with trout fillet (that can be cured the same way) or smoked salmon if you wanted to do a quicker version. • Serve the dish with crème fraiche, pink grapefruit segments, picked dill and fresh oysters served separately.

Chilli Beef And Mushroom Stir-Fry Serves: 4 350g beef steak, sliced into strips 3 tablespoons Kikkoman soy sauce Juice of 1 lime 1 tsp toasted sesame oil 1 red chilli, deseeded and very finely chopped 2 tablespoons sunflower oil 200g mushrooms, sliced or left whole if small 125g tenderstem broccoli 2 heads of baby pak choi, shredded 75g bean sprouts

In a dish, mix together the soy sauce, lime juice, sesame oil and chilli, add the steak and mix until they are well coated. Cover the dish with cling film and leave in the fridge to marinate for an hour. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a wok or large frying pan. Lift half the steak from the marinade and stir-fry over a high heat for 2 minutes until browned. Remove from the pan and set aside. Add the rest of the steak to the pan, reserving the marinade, and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Remove and set aside. Add the remaining oil to the pan and stir-fry the mushrooms for 2 minutes. Add the broccoli, stir-fry for 1 minute, then add the pak choi and bean sprouts and stir-fry for a further 1 minute. Return the steak to the pan, pour over the reserved marinade and toss everything together over the heat for 2 minutes until piping hot. Serve at once.

A Pancake Fact: Reading a blog post about pancakes from Karen Burns- Booth’s award-winning blog Lavender & Lovage I found out about a very old recipe pancake recipe called a ‘Quire of Paper’:

During the 18th century, wafer-thin pancakes were extremely popular and were served in a stack, with each pancake being dredged with caster sugar as they were built up. Sack (sherry) and melted butter were often served with them and the thinner the pancakes the better. Sometimes stacks reached the giddy heights of fifty pancakes tall. A quire is a measurement of paper, hence the name for these airy pancakes, as they appear to be paper thin and stacked as paper…the official measurement is defined as: A set of 24 or sometimes 25 sheets of paper of the same size and stock; one twentieth of a ream. www.TwickenhamTribune.com 12th February 2021 - Page 25 www.RichmondTribune.com Pain and Beauty of Perseverance Virtual Fourth Poetry Performance, On-Line, 7th February Set against the backdrop of a cold, windy and snow-filled night, Poetry Performance gathered once more for a digital evening of language and poetry, an ‘open mic’ gathering where amateurs and professionals alike can share their own poems or favourite verses by others. An on-line visit to Poetry Performance made me feel oddly like a fly on the wall, but from the start it was clear that here is a warm, supportive group that is clearly passionate about poetry. After a dreadful never-ending year since the first lockdown, such a meeting was quite comforting. In an evening filled with humorous, touching and thoughtful pieces, Terry Bedell’s poem Home for Christmas was a beautiful standout for me, a moving rumination on isolation, family and love during Covid-19. Thankfully I had my camera turned off during the event, as Home for Christmas made me well up with tears quite a bit. It captured the overall mood of the evening, warm and heartfelt, yet with the melancholic tone of a year filled with both pain and the beauty of perseverance. ‘Faded Beauty’ was the erstwhile title of the opening half whose concurrent themes circled around the pandemic, the world’s political tensions, and family and childhood. In Stephen Harman’s poem Viv and Larry the memory of childhood and thoughts of the past have a beauty that fades elusively. How wonderful it is to have poetry to recapture and express some of that beauty? The second part of the evening revolved loosely around World War anniversaries whose celebrations have been marred by the pandemic. Maybe as soon as restrictions ease, we will all be able to mark historic occasions in a fitting manner and I hope that when the time comes Poetry Performance will share some of its work. The evening’s featured poet, Greg Freeman had some wonderful poems on the subject. These were based on events and letters in his own family, which gave his work a sense of urgent and immediate intimacy. Keith Wait’s poem Colour VE Day very effectively used the theme of colour to invoke vivid images of VE day, an event increasingly remembered from a distance through black and white footage. Sweetest for me was Connaire Kensit’s poem Reassurance, which captured the uncertainty of a child during war time and his family’s attempts to reassure him that there will always be family to care for him, were the unthinkable to happen. It is a lovely point of view in a poem that captured the love, the fear and the astuteness of children in times of crises. Read Melissa Syversen’s review at www.markaspen.com/2021/02/08/virtual-4th Photography by Andy Lyman and Jane Barnes www.TwickenhamTribune.com 12th February 2021 - Page 26 www.RichmondTribune.com No Panic, No Fuss, Just Leisurely Stephan O’Goodson Live Lounge, OSO, on-line via YouTube from 10th February Review by Vince Francis

OSO Arts Centre is to be saluted in its flexibility in adapting to lockdown, transforming its auditorium into a ‘Crisis Kitchen’ and shifting the performances on-line via Live Lounge. Even if we can’t have the buzz of being in the same room, this broadcast platform provides the audience with the ability to feed back in real time. It was into this virtual space that I was invited to enjoy the performance of vocalist Stephan O’Goodson, accompanied by guitarist Paul Stead.

From the apt and snazzy swing opener, I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm, we were treated to an eclectic mix of styles and genres. Stephan’s high tenor range, which includes the occasional foray into falsetto, lends itself nicely to covers of female singers including Nina Simone, Billie Holliday, Whitney Houston and Dinah Washington.

Overall, this was a great way to spend an hour or so. High-points were Stay with Me, sitting right in Stephan’s range it works very well; What A Difference A Day Makes, which was taken at a warm, leisurely pace; and a rather clever tango version of Amy Winehouse’s 2006 hit, Back to Black. Nice hear Caravan in there too, not often done as a duo number, but it worked well.

Talking of solos, Paul Stead accompanied these styles fluently and sympathetically. Using an elegant Gibson archtop (E series, I think), with all the fruity richness of tone that suggests, Paul piqued my interest. Firstly, he used the volume knob both to get out of Stephan’s way when he was singing and secondly to subtly alter the tone of the instrument in solos. Secondly, he made good use of a “looper” pedal to provide himself with a backing track whilst soloing. Most importantly, I found his ability to step outside the accepted cannon of jazz licks and incorporate different styles into a song really appealing. For example, there was a couple of country style phrases in one of the jazz standards which didn’t sound out of place and there was some quite funky soul-style rhythm playing in Otis Redding’s Respect.

Read Vince Francis’ review at www.markaspen.com/2021/02/11/s-ogood-1 Photography by Vernon Tomlinson www.TwickenhamTribune.com 12th February 2021 - Page 27 www.RichmondTribune.com St Mary’s University St Mary’s University Launches Human Exploitation Research Centre St Mary’s University, Twickenham has and students in the Centre, and partner today launched its new Bakhita Centre practitioners on active research and for Research on Slavery, Exploitation and developments in the field. This included Abuse, named in honour of St Josephine Karen Anstiss, Service Manager of the Bakhita, the patron saint of victims of Caritas Bakhita House, a refuge for women human trafficking and modern slavery. escaping human trafficking, who spoke on partnerships and working with service The new Centre was launched at an online providers. Director of the Snowdrop event on the Feast Day of St Josephine Project, Lara Bundock, also spoke on the Bakhita, and featured a range of speakers National Training Standards Framework to including St Mary’s Chancellor and Support Victims and Survivors of Modern Archbishop of Westminster HE Cardinal Slavery, which was launched in partnership Vincent Nichols and the UK’s Independent with St Mary’s in 2020. Anti-Slavery Commissioner Dame Sara Thornton. Speaking of the new Centre, HE Cardinal Vincent Nichols said, “I am proud to see St Mary’s develop and progress its activity in researching the crimes of human exploitation. Combating modern slavery, exploitation and abuse are core missions of the global Catholic Church through the Santa Marta Group. I look forward to seeing the important interventions the Bakhita Centre will be making in these areas.”

Dame Sara Thornton added, “I’m pleased to see the work at St Mary’s University The Bakhita Centre was born out of the enter an exciting new phase of research, now closed Centre for the Study of Modern training and education in this important Slavery, which opened at St Mary’s in 2015, area. As the Independent Anti-Slavery to broaden the University’s research on Commissioner, I have seen first-hand global issues surrounding inequality. This the crucial role that practitioners play in includes gender-based violence, sexual supporting those affected by trafficking and other forms of exploitation, abuse and exploitation. Understanding what and discrimination based on structural works from the survivor-centred and inequalities, race, ethnicity, asylum trauma-informed seeking/refugee and migrant status. approaches of experts is The launch also heard from academics essential.” www.TwickenhamTribune.com 12th February 2021 - Page 28 www.RichmondTribune.com ISG Hosts STEM Centre and Careers Event for students Construction Specialist ISG inspires RuTC students showcasing the new STEM Centre development and different careers within the construction sector On Thursday 4 February, construction company ISG presented the second phase of Richmond upon Thames College’s (RuTC) redevelopment to 50 of its students and highlighted the various careers available in the construction industry. In March 2020, the majority of RuTC students moved into the iconic Richmond building on the existing Twickenham site which was phase one of the project. For this, ISG Project Director Richard White took home Silver in the Higher Education category in the Construction Manager of the Year Awards as recognition of successfully mastering “the Herculean challenge of this five-storey campus block”. Phase two will see the construction of a brand new STEM Centre for Science, IT, Engineering and Construction students and is due for completion in Summer 2022. In order to give the STEM students details about their new learning environment, ISG hosted an informative virtual event which focussed on the construction of the STEM Centre and its final look. For this, videos and further AI methods were shown to the students, which are also used by the company to keep clients updated on the build. ISG highlighted how construction work has continued during the pandemic, showing the importance of virtual tours, technology and ISG’s very own health and safety app. The presentation also showcased the partnership that exists between ISG and RuTC, highlighting the work placements opportunities offered previously. In addition, Catering students provided lunch to ISG staff and Supported Learning and Construction students have collaborated to install planters around the site. Karen Vigar, Education Engagement Manager at ISG, discussed the further opportunities available for current and future students, for example apprenticeships and work experience. Tania Jacobs, Senior Social Value Manager and a former RuTC student, highlighted how ISG’s social value is about legacy and long-term outcomes, such as training, employment and work experience with the strategy to engage the local community and she is looking forward to coming back and revisiting the site. Richard White, Project Director at ISG, said, “Our partnership with Richmond upon Thames College extends far beyond the delivery of an outstanding new state-of-the-art campus, to encompass direct apprenticeships, job creation and learning opportunities for the students. Maximising social value benefits for the local community and Richmond Borough residents, ISG and RuTC are delivering something truly transformational, not just for the college, but the surrounding area.” Sheila Fraser Whyte, Executive Director for Business Development and Innovation at RuTC, said, “This event with ISG was the first of many. Students and key stakeholders were given a great opportunity to have a look behind the scenes of their new STEM Centre, seeing every step from the start of the construction project to the finished building. I want to thank ISG for giving our students a virtual tour of their new learning environment and the opportunities and careers within the industry. There has never been a more important time to showcase a positive future for young people and the journey that we are on to create a building for their dreams and aspirations.” www.TwickenhamTribune.com 12th February 2021 - Page 29 www.RichmondTribune.com Traveller’s Tales 90 We all deserve a holiday Doug Goodman looks at the travel business

The Government’s latest statement about massive fines or prison for travellers trying to conceal their arrival in the UK from a high-risk country, may well deter us from taking a foreign holiday for some time. Yet, according to TUI, the world’s biggest tour operator, 2.8 million bookings have been made for summer holidays this year – half from the UK - although they admitted that 4.9 million bookings had been made at the same time in 2020. The company said that holidays to Spain – particularly the Balearics and Canaries and to Greece were top favourites. Reading Travel Weekly, one of the UK’s major trade publications, there’s plenty of optimism in the travel business. Sales for foreign holidays from September onward are good and UK breaks are in great demand. Holidays for 2022 are also selling well according to travel trade sources. One tour operator, Explore, has launched holidays to Malta, Greece, Turkey and Chernobyl. Classic Collection Holidays guarantees a full cash refund if the holiday cannot be provided and no amendment fee if you change your booking. There will be fewer foreign holidays on sale and prices will rise as supply dwindles: UK breaks will be in great demand with many cottages and small hotels putting up ‘full’ signs for peak season.

Hiking holiday Tropical Beach Magical Moscow

Holidays are a priority as we all need a break after last year’s tough restrictions on travel. If you know where and when you want to take your holiday book now but check the small print. A reputable and knowledgeable travel agent like Twickenham’s Crusader Travel will guide you. Bruce’s weekly advice column in this magazine on travel is always very helpful. Whether you prefer a crowded beach or a deserted tropical spot; an exciting city break or an exclusive family-run resort and spa; a hiking holiday, a cruise or a ski trip, you can be sure of finding something that suits.

Join the Crowds Volga Cruise Guides For All Destinations

www.TwickenhamTribune.com 12th February 2021 - Page 30 www.RichmondTribune.com TRAVEL READING When a 600 page travel book was delivered last week it set me thinking about what makes us choose a holiday and how we are influenced by travel books, films and press features. I read travel books for entertainment and occasionally because I’m interested in a destination covered by that publication. I then buy a travel guide and consult the internet to discover as much as possible about the history, culture and geography of the ‘wish-list’ place. I also keep travel articles from the papers and file them for future reference. Where ever I travel I collect local information, make notes and photograph everything. From over 600 trips during 50 years working in travel I’ve visited 50 countries- some many times like Russia, Spain and France. This experience has allowed me to write my 80th Traveller’s Tales for The Tribune with plenty more to follow.

Exclusive Resort. Bonsol in Ski Time Holiday Reading Mallorca

A SPELL IN A CELL The book I received is ‘The Bumper Book of Vitali’s Travels – 30 Years of Globe Trotting’. Written by the Internationally- acclaimed author Vitali Vitaliev, his travels began when he left the Soviet Union for London. He takes us to all five continents and hundreds of places and describes his experiences in a charming and amusing way. Of his 13 books my favourite is ‘Little is the Light’ in which he travels to mini European states: Malta, Gibraltar, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Isle of Man, Mt. Athos and many more. The chapter on Mt. Athos, the monastic republic in Northern Greece forbidden to women and even female animals, was particularly enjoyable as I had organised this first-ever press visit and spent a couple of nights in a cell with the author: a monk’s cell I hasten to add.

Travel abroad will be difficult if not impossible for a little while yet but there is light at the end of the check-in queue. If all we can do is read about holiday destinations and dream about our next trip then there is something to which we can look forward.

The Bumper Book of Vitali’s Travels is published by Thrust Books. www.TwickenhamTribune.com 12th February 2021 - Page 31 www.RichmondTribune.com WIZ TALES - Myanmar Revisited Teresa Read

Over thirty weeks ago photographs from Myanmar were featured in Edition 190 on page 27 (see Archive). With Myanmar in the news, I have found some of the photographs that I have not used before which may be of interest. A number of other photographs from Myanmar can be seen in the two World InfoZone links below. The photograph of the “pink monks”, young girls from ten years old, was used to advertise World InfoZone in the Strawberry Hill Residents Association (SHRA) in 2007 when I introduced small advertisements to cover the cost of the Bulletin (see edition 135 below).

More photographs of Myanmar can be seen on these World InfoZone pages: http://www.worldinfozone.com/gallery.php?country=Myanmar http://www.worldinfozone.com/features.php?section=Myanmar Strawberry Hill Residents Associaton Bulletin Edition 135: https://www.shra.org.uk/Bulletin135.pdf 2007 www.TwickenhamTribune.com 12th February 2021 - Page 32 www.RichmondTribune.com Travel Gossip By Bruce Lyons

Dear Messrs Hancock, Shapps, Johnson and Prof. Van Damn give us back our hope!!!! Relentlessly we are being told on the TV, Radio and in the Media not to book our holidays. What’s good for the goose”...... I am sure we have all got the message - we must not go on holiday NOW - agreed, moreover if you do, unless you are an influencer, (whatever they are), you’ll be in real trouble!

But if Mr.H can book his Cornish Escape and have a little something to look forward to - why can’t the rest of us? I’m sure Mr H feels he’s got something for Mrs H and all the little H’s to look forward to. To tell you the truth 1,000s have booked UK and Continental Vacations for late spring (May) and summer and why not, you may say? The important thing is to be careful.

Here are some pointers UK Holidays- Staycations are Simpler than overseas trips. Be sure to check the COVID-19 Policy of your supplier in the event that lockdowns make it impossible to take the holiday. Take out, it is not expensive, A UK based holiday travel insurance with a COVID protection in case you contract COVID before the travel date It will give you protection before and during the holiday and cover your extra expenses and losses.

Overseas vacations These are trickier as it is unwise to do it as a DIY job - you really must, this year, make sure it is a package with an ATOL and of course again take an insurance policy too - like the UK but this time it would be including full health cover -though if it includes different module for Beach/ Adventure/City just be sure to hunt for an agent who will put all that together with the travel as one package (like Crusader Travel) and then add the insurance as before .

Well now you know you can book with confidence and now you have all been brainwashed with travelogues on TV and you all know the nooks and crannies of the British Isles, get booking - leave it at your peril. High Season dates have already been heavily booked by Messrs H! S & J! And there may be few places left - I was checking an expensive Small Boat Scottish Isle cruise company today and there are really few gaps between June and September and if you want a beachfront house in Cornwall - you might find it a struggle. Same goes for sought after places like the Scilly Isles and whilst we doing a summary may I remind you that Jersey with its 2393 hrs of sun per annum is a hot potato (pardon the pun) ,that is the highest sun hours in the UK , this year - So don’t worry book now, like Mr H There’s no time to loose! Bruce. www.crusadertravel.com www.TwickenhamTribune.com 12th February 2021 - Page 33 www.RichmondTribune.com Struggling to pay your annual fuel bills? The Council can help

A vital lifeline for residents who are struggling to pay their annual fuel bills has once again been launched by Richmond Council.

Grants of up to £85 per household are now available from the Council to protect residents who are at risk from living in fuel poverty. If you are on benefits or have a low income you may be eligible for help from the Council with heating bills, even if you are already receiving help from elsewhere, including via the COVID-19 Hardship Fund. Last year over 900 people received the one-off grant – proof that the need exists in the borough and that number is expected to be a lot higher this year as a result of the pandemic.

The closing date for applications is Friday 2 April 2021. Applications received after the closing date will not be processed.

We are unable to notify successful applicants until after the closing date.

Cllr Robin Brown, Richmond Council Lead Member for Finance, said:

‘Getting residents through the colder weather and making sure that no one is faced with fuel poverty is a major priority for this Council. We understand that the ever- increasing cost of fuel bills has left many people struggling to pay for their annual heating bills. And now many more people are feeling financial pressures after nearly a year of hardship as result of the pandemic. We are here to help.

‘Therefore, despite the significant reductions in Government funding over the past few years, the Council will continue with these vital grants, which make a real difference to families in the borough. I encourage you to apply if you are eligible, even if you are receiving another form of financial support during the pandemic.’

If you would like to apply you can download the Fuel Grants application form from the Council website or call 020 8891 1411 to arrange to have one posted to you.

www.TwickenhamTribune.com 12th February 2021 - Page 34 www.RichmondTribune.com RFS The Best of our Recent Historic Screenings Issue 47 12th February 2021 TRUMAN A new series for those of you who are missing Richmond Film Society’s screenings or, indeed, trips to the cinema generally as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. Their committee is producing a number of weekly recommendations of films screened during the last 20 years that were extremely well received by their audiences. Should the notes reproduced below entice you to try and catch-up with this recommendation, then you should be able to do so, as it is available on streaming services and for purchase as DVD/Blu-Ray discs from the online retailers as indicated below.

RFS Context: TRUMAN was 804th film screened by RFS on 30th April 2019. Truman was one of the four equal top ranked films of Season 56, it got an approval mark of 95% from those attending; from season 56 we have also already featured one its top ranked equals The Fencer, as Issue 44. The other equal top films wereHidden Figures and Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years. Truman can be streamed from Amazon Prime plus the discs are available from Amazon and others. TRUMAN Country: Spain 2015, 108 mins Director: Cesc Gay Writing: Tomàs Aragay & Cesc Gay Editor: Pablo Barbieri Carrera Cinematography: Andreu Rebés Running Time: 108 min, Colour Language: Spanish LEADING PLAYERS Ricardo Darín - Julián Javier Cámara - Tomás Dolores Fonzi - Paula Troilo - Truman Eduard Fernández - Luis Alex Brendemühl - Médico José Luis Gómez - Productor Javier Gutiérrez - Asesor Funeraria Elvira Mínguez - Gloria Oriol Pla - Nico Terminally ill ageing actor Julian, played by Ricardo Darin from Argentina, some of you might remember him from the original version of The Secret in Their Eyes 2009 (previously shown by RFS), needs to spend his final few days/ weeks/ months tying up loose ends, when oldest friend Tomas (Javier Camara, Spanish, played the male nurse in Almodovar’s Talk to Her) unexpectedly pays him a visit. As childhood friends they were inseparable but circumstances, life, whatever they drifted apart. Julian, dramatic, emotional someone who enjoys nothing better than making a scene remained in Spain where he struggled with the uncertainty of life as an actor, whereas Tomas, a planner, www.TwickenhamTribune.com 12th February 2021 - Page 35 www.RichmondTribune.com a worrier, emigrated to Canada where he settled into the stability of family life and secure job prospects...... but after just one day together in Madrid the strength of their friendship is rekindled and together they spend a few wonderful days in the city that formed them. Can you have a satisfactory film about death and dying ?....it’s a tricky one; more often than not it’s too sentimental, maudlin or painfully philosophical...but Truman succeeds , with the great rapport between Julian and Tomas, and as the viewer you’re drawn into the matter of fact and yet moving dialogue with humour, for example Julian asks if all his ashes will fit in a tiny urn and above all we share his overriding concern...to find a permanent and loving home for his ageing bull mastiff, quite the saddest looking dog in screen history called Truman. Julian believes that the only thing that matters in life are relationships but because this bromide is harder to put into practice than he anticipates it’s a pleasure to watch these wholly believable individuals as they try! It may sound paradoxical but if done right films about a life ending can be the most life affirming films you’ll see....and Truman a great success in its native Spain is definitely done right. Annie Cartland with acknowledgements to the Los Angeles Times Naked Lady in York House Garden Spruced Up By Maurice Parry-Wingfield

www.TwickenhamTribune.com 12th February 2021 - Page 36 www.RichmondTribune.com Petitions Stop the introduction of parking charges in Richmond Park and Bushy Park

The Royal Parks intend to introduce car parking charges in Richmond Park and Bushy Park. This is an indefensible proposal, particularly at a time when the link between poverty, obesity and poor health has been so clearly highlighted by the impact of Covid 19.

Spending time in the park is one of the very few free and healthy options for families and individuals. It is essential for people’s mental and physical well being that access to the parks is encouraged rather than restricted. If, as a society, we really want to fight obesity we must continue to provide spaces for free and healthy exercise.

During lockdown, a much more diverse and geographically widespread group of people discovered the joys of Bushy and Richmond Park; this is a cause for celebration and should be viewed as a positive and healthy development and encouraged as much as possible. The petition can be viewed HERE Accept the proposal to reinstate a Lido on Twickenham Riverside During consultations with local stakeholders it has become clear that there is a wish to bring back a Lido on Twickenham Riverside.

A Lido on Twickenham Riverside would provide a leisure and sport facility for the people of Twickenham and surrounding areas.

More importantly though, it provides the local people with an everyday escape from modern life, an accessible urban retreat.

Such a facility on Twickenham Riverside would act as a Magnet and contribute to the rejuvenation of the town. The petition can be viewed HERE An Ideal Present for just £6

Lidos Alive – the Story of Our Lidos - is a 63-page A5 book with colour photos and illustrations full of interesting information about the history of outdoor swimming in the Borough and the rise of the lido. Contents include Mereway Bathing Place, pools in Bushy Park, , Teddington Pool, , Tagg’s Island, Marble Hill, Twickenham Baths, and other interesting stories. To purchase a book contact [email protected] www.TwickenhamTribune.com 12th February 2021 - Page 37 www.RichmondTribune.com FOOTBALL FOCUS by James Dowden BRENTFORD FC Toney scores a brace as Bees maintain unbeaten run Middlesbrough 1 – 4 Brentford. scored twice for Brentford as Brentford dispatched Middlesbrough convincingly 4-1 at the Riverside Stadium. An own goal from goalkeeper had given Middlesbrough inside the opening three minutes but Toney equalised before half-time after turning in a cross from . Juts before the hour mark a volley from the edge of the area by gave Brentford the lead for the first time and the lead was further extended when a slip from Paddy McNair allowed to race clean through on goal and round . Toney headed in his second of the afternoon ten minutes from time as Brentford stretched their unbeaten run to 20 league games. Brentford fell behind early on when Raya failed to deal with a cross into the box. A short corner from was worked to who returned the ball for Kebano to delivery. Kebano’s cross was delivered into the six-yard box as the ball was deflected off Raya and into the back of the net for the opener. Brentford hit back though and have levelled through Championship top scorer Toney. Henrik Dalsgaard launched the ball up field to Toney who flicked the ball on for the onrushing Dasilva. Dasilva outmuscled McNair and then pulled the back across goal invitingly for Toney who rolled the ball into the unguarded net. Raya made up for his earlier error with two excellent saves either side of half-time to preserve Brentford’s lead. Firstly, he tipped a shot onto the post and then in the second-half the Spaniard kept out the Middlesbrough once more, this time instinctively getting a leg out to divert the ball away from goal and then seconds latter made another save with his foot, after Dalsgaard have inadvertently diverted the ball back towards his own goal line. Toney then turned provider as he set up Janelt as Brentford took the lead for the first time in the game with just under an hour played at the Riverside. Jensen switched play to Toney on the right wing, with the striker knocking the ball down to the edge of the area. Waiting was Janelt who volleyed past the despairing dive of Bettinelli and into the far corner. The crucial third goal came wen McNair slipped on the halfway line with Jensen closing in. The Dane soon capitalised on the mistake as he dribbled forward and despite the support of Toney, he elected to take the ball around Bettinelli and produce a composed finished. Raya made another save from point blank range to ensure that any lingering hopes of a Middlesbrough comeback were denied. had put in a speculative cross into the box but after a combination of Jensen and had failed to clear their lines the ball arrived at the feet of former Brentford player , who fired a powerful shot that Raya managed to beat away. A perfect afternoon for the away side was rounded off late on as Toney scored his second of the match. Counterattacking late on Brentford advance up field where the ball came to Henry who checked inside Bola and had a shot that Bettinelli managed to divert onto the crossbar. In proved in vain however as instantly the ball came to who crossed first time to Toney to head in the final goal of the game and take Brentford into the automatic promotion places.

www.TwickenhamTribune.com 12th February 2021 - Page 38 www.RichmondTribune.com Dasilva at the double to send Bees top Reading 1 – 3 Brentford A brace from Josh Dasilva helped Brentford to come from behind against Reading to go top of the Championship for the first time this season. A penalty from Lucas João had given the home side the advantage at the Madejski Stadium but a brilliant individual goal from Dasilva ensured the sides went into the break on level terms. Two late goals then ensured Brentford would be travelling back with all three points when Ivan Toney knocked the ball down for Dasilva to score and then Toney himself got on the scoresheet after following in on a shot from Sergi Canós that Rafael Cabral couldn’t hold and the striker clinically finished from close range. Brentford conceded a penalty midway through the first-half when Henrik Dalsgaard was penalised for a challenge on Josh Laurent from behind after picking up the ball from Ovie Ejaria. David Raya got a hand to João’s penalty but was unable to keep it out as the Royals took the lead. This lead was eliminated before half-time though as from a quick set piece Brentford equalised. Toney looked to get out with the game quickly after Tom McIntyre had bundled into the back of him and he played a short pass into the feet of Dasilva. The Brentford then proceeded to go on a mazy run down the right hand touchline, before cutting inside Laurent and curling the ball into the far corner. Brentford were then forced into some good defending to see out the remainder of the half. Raya had to be alert to tip over a João header from the edge of the six-yard box following a cross from and produced an excellent sliding challenge to disposed João as the Reading striker closed in on goal. Raya also kept also kept out a good shot from Laurent as the Royals ended the first-half with the better chances. The second-half didn’t produce many chances but the key moments came right at the death as Dasilva scored for the second time in the evening with just four minutes of regular time to play. Patient Brentford build-up play was rewarded when Dalsgaard swung a cross into the back post where Toney chested the ball down for Dasilva in space, who riffled the ball in at the near post past Cabral. Two minutes later it was Toney himself who was turning to celebrate as he rounded off the night with Brentford’s third. Substitute Canós had time in the final third and picked his head up to shot. His shot across goal could only be palmed out into the path of Toney to gleefully convert from inside the six- yard box and send Brentford top. UP NEXT FOR BRENTFORD Game 1 Opponent: Barnsley (A) Sunday 14th February 13:00 Brentford Community Stadium Nickname: The Tykes Competition: Championship - Matchday 29 Head Coach: Valérien Ismaël Opponent record: P27 W10 D6 L11 GF29 GA34 (13th in Championship) Interesting fact: Barnsley have spent more seasons at the second level of English football than any other team having played more than 3,000 games in second-level league football. Game 2 Opponent: Queens Park Rangers (A) Wednesday 17th February 19:00 Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium Nickname: The Rs, The Hoops Competition: Championship - Matchday 30 Manager: Mark Warbuton Opponent record: P27 W8 D9 L10 GF26 GA32 (16th in Championship) www.TwickenhamTribune.com 12th February 2021 - Page 39 www.RichmondTribune.com Interesting fact: In 1981 QPR became the first football club in Europe to install an artificial pitch at their stadium. The plastic pitch was however abandoned for normal grass again in 1988.

Come on you Bees!

Hampton & Richmond Borough Beavers back with a bang as they cruise past Angels Tonbridge Angels 0 – 3 Hampton & Richmond Hampton & Richmond Borough returned to their first competitive game in three weeks following the temporary suspension of the National League South with a convincing 3-0 victory against Tonbridge Angels. Goals from Charlie Wassmer and David Fisher in the first-half and a header from Ruaridh Donaldson early in the second ensured they recorder their eight away win in succession in the league as the strengthened their playoff position. On his return from injury central defender Charlie Wassmer put Hampton & Richmond ahead inside the opening fifteen minutes. A free-kick from Sam Deadfield was inch perfect for Wassmer to crash in a header past Jonny Henly. The Beavers put the ball in in the back of the net for the second time in the afternoon after a shot from David Fisher had been palmed out by Henly and eventually broken to Jak Gray who finished from a tight angle. The goal was however ruled out for offside. Hampton & Richmond did score a second before half-time when Gray picked up a throw in and dribbled beyond the half-way line. The midfielder then slipped a perfectly weighted through ball for Fisher to run onto and the young forward shoed great composure to take the ball past Henly and finish into an unguarded net. Hampton & Richmond then got themselves breathing space as they scored just a minute in to the start of the second-half. A powerful run from Mauro Vilhete allowed Fisher to drift over into space on the right wing and the goal scorer then crossed to the unmarked Donaldson to head in the third. Tonbridge didn’t produce many threatening attacking opportunities. Khale Da Costa delivered a cross to the back post but not Angels player could get to it as Julian was rarely threatened in the second- half. At the other end Hampton & Richmond nearly extended their lead when Niko Muir held the ball up and then passed into the lively Fisher, but Henly did well to keep out the shot with his feet. Sam Cox did brilliantly well to make a decisive intervention, heading the ball away from danger, after a threatening cross from Jack Parter looked to be causing problems, but the Beavers fullback did well under pressure. Late on Muir glanced a header wide from the edge of the six-yard area and Hampton & Richmond’s other fullback Kyron Farrell fired into the side netting from a promising position but in the end it didn’t matter as the Beavers returned to winning ways.

Beavers beaten narrowly edge out by Fleet Ebbsfleet United 2 – 1 Hampton & Richmond Hampton & Richmond Borough’s impressive run of eight wins in a row in the league finally came to www.TwickenhamTribune.com 12th February 2021 - Page 40 www.RichmondTribune.com an end after they were beaten 2-1 by fellow playoff hopefuls Ebbsfleet United. The Beavers found themselves two goals down to strikes from Rakish Bingham and Alfie Egan but despite David Fisher halving the deficit just before half-time they couldn’t engineer a way back into the game as they fell to defeat at Stonebridge Road. Alan Julian was called into action early on to keep the home side at bay as he saved from Ebbsfleet captain Lee Martin and Bingham inside the opening ten minutes. Hampton & Richmond went closest early on through Ruaridh Donaldson but the Scotsman couldn’t convert past Giousue Bellagambi from a promising position inside the box under pressure from the Ebbsfleet defence. The home side then opened the scoring with 18 minutes played in the first-half. Martin dribbled inside and his attempt was initially saved but Julian but the Hampton & Richmond couldn’t keep hold of the ball and it ran for Bingham to convert from inside the six-yard box. Ebbsfleet were soon two goal to the good courtesy of a quickly taken throw-in. James Dobson found Jack Paxman in space and he in turn passed the ball into the path of Egan. The midfielder picked his head up and shot from distance past Julian to give the home side a strong position. On the stroke of half-time Fisher gave Hampton & Richmond a route back into the game via a Kyron Farrell cross. Fisher rose highest in the box and headed past Bellagambi into the top corner. After the restart both sides continued to push and Julian was called upon to get his body in the way of a shot from Ebbsfleet substitute Adam Mekki. A set piece nearly provided Hampton & Richmond with an equaliser and a delivery from Farrell was initially saved by goalkeeper Bellagambi but Niko Muir following in couldn’t only shot over the crossbar from a promising position. Julian was playing his part for Hampton & Richmond as he made a good save to deny Martin after he had been teed up by fullback Tobi Adebayo-Rowling as the Beavers cleared the ball from danger. Late on Muir nearly rescued a point for Hampton & Richmond when he was put through on goal after Farrell had driven forward form fullback but he could only curl his shot wide as they were left empty handed for their midweek travels.

Hampton & Richmond Borough vote to null and void season Hampton & Richmond Borough have announced that they have voted to null and void their 2020/21 National League Season. The decision comes after the National League board and Department for Culture Media & Sport (DCMS) made changes to the funding structure from grants to loans.

In lieu of this the club release a statement saying that “This is a head over heart decision and one which we should never have been facing. Whilst disappointing, I am confident our supporters will understand the reasoning behind this decision and the importance of the club’s survival in what is its centenary year.

On the assumption that the season is to end, I would like to thank our players and staff for their amazing efforts, support and understanding during this period and am only sorry that we can’t finish what we started. However, we now look forward to a quick resolution and clear communication from the league on the outcomes and next steps so that we can move forward and work towards the return of fans and celebration of what is such a milestone in the history of Hampton & Richmond Borough FC.”

Come on you Beavers!

www.TwickenhamTribune.com 12th February 2021 - Page 41 www.RichmondTribune.com England team announcement: England v Italy - Guinness Six Nations

Eddie Jones has named his England team to play Italy in the Guinness Six Nations this weekend.

England will host Italy at on Saturday 13 February (2.15pm KO).

Mako Vunipola is back from injury at loose-head prop, with (tight-head prop) and Luke Cowan-Dickie (hooker) also returning to the starting line-up, in the front row. and stay as locks.

Courtney Lawes starts at blind-side flanker, with continuing at open-side flanker and at No. 8. Captain moves to inside centre, Henry Slade is at outside centre and George Ford starts at fly half.

Jonny May is at left wing and Anthony Watson right wing. will be at full back and remains at scrum half. , , , , , Dan Robson, and Jack Willis are named as finishers.

Jones said: “As always, we’ve picked what we think is our strongest 23 to try and win the game. We’re pleased to have Mako and Kyle back into the team and we’ve made some changes to our starting XV, but our finishers are just as important to our game plan. We look at the whole 80 minutes. We’ve trained very well this week, I’ve been very pleased with the players’ attitudes and work-rate. We’re hoping to put on a good performance on Saturday and kick on with our Guinness Six Nations campaign.”

England v Italy is live on ITV 1 and BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra.

England XV Starters 15. Elliot Daly (Saracens, 48 caps) 1. (Saracens, 63 caps) 14. Anthony Watson (, 47 caps) 2. Luke Cowan-Dickie (, 27 caps) 13. Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs, 35 caps) 3. Kyle Sinckler (, 40 caps) 12. Owen Farrell (C) (Saracens, 89 caps) 4. Maro Itoje (Saracens, 44 caps) 11. (, 62 caps) 5. Jonny Hill (Exeter Chiefs, 5 caps) 10. George Ford (, 73 caps) 6. ( Saints, 86 caps) 9. Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers, 105 caps) 7. Tom Curry (, 29 caps) 8. Billy Vunipola (Saracens, 57 caps)

Finishers 16. Jamie George (Saracens, 55 caps) 20. Ben Earl (Bristol Bears, 9 caps) 17. Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers, 24 caps) 21. Jack Willis (Wasps, 2 caps) 18. Will Stuart (Bath Rugby, 9 caps) 22. Dan Robson (Wasps, 8 caps) 19. Charlie Ewels (Bath Rugby, 17 caps) 23. Max Malins (Bristol Bears, 4 caps)

www.TwickenhamTribune.com 12th February 2021 - Page 42 www.RichmondTribune.com RFU Council Approve Moratorium on Relegation from Gallagher Premiership for 2020/21 Season and a Review of Minimum Standards for Future Seasons

• At the end of season 2020/21 there will be no relegation from the Premiership into the Championship, and no relegation from the Championship into National One. • Provided the winner of the 2020/21 Greene King IPA Championship is eligible for promotion under the current Minimum Standards Criteria, the 2021/22 season to consist of 13 teams in the Gallagher Premiership and 11 in the Greene King IPA Championship. • Holistic new minimum standards on and off the pitch for promotion to the Gallagher Premiership will be developed between now and the end of May 2021 with involvement and approval from Council which will be designed to promote sustainability in the professional game. • The RFU Council today cast a strong majority vote in favour of no relegation from the Gallagher Premiership or the Greene King IPA Championship for the 2020/21 season. Council members considered the impact Covid-19 has had on all areas of the game, including the earlier decision to suspend promotion and relegation in the community game and the Gallagher Premiership cancelling a significant number of matches in the 2020/21 season. These cancellations have resulted in a material impact on league positions which could mean relegation based on cancellation not on field merit. Over the next four months the RFU, and Championship representatives will work on recommendations for changes to the season structures for 2021/22 and beyond for both the Premiership and Championship. It is hoped that proposals will include a different approach to promotion and relegation from the Gallagher Premiership. The aim will be to retain the ambition of clubs in the Greene King IPA Championship and below and to continue to allow a route to promotion to the Gallagher Premiership. New minimum standard criteria, investment in facilities and club funding will be discussed. The domestic calendar will be reviewed, which will also allow additional preparation time for the England senior men’s team ahead of 2023. Player welfare will be central to the proposals and the RPA will be consulted on the development of season structures. It is likely that any season structures may also include a further moratorium on promotion and relegation for three or four seasons, after which the structure will be subject to further review. Those proposals would be subject to a vote of the RFU Council before the end of the 2020/21 season. Speaking about the RFU Council vote, RFU President, HH Jeff Blackett said; “The RFU Council has taken time to understand and discuss all the factors regarding no relegation for this season so that we act in the best interests of all levels of the game. We want to ensure a healthy elite game to support successful winning England teams that generate income to stimulate and preserve the game across all levels. The Council will continue to be closely engaged with the proposals from the RFU, Premiership Rugby and the Championship to ensure we maintain the integrity of the future league structures for England Rugby.” www.TwickenhamTribune.com 12th February 2021 - Page 43 www.RichmondTribune.com Environmental tax measures

Today’s report from the National Audit Office (NAO) has found that HM Treasury and HM Revenue & Customs (the exchequer departments) have a limited understanding of how far the tax system supports government’s environmental objectives.

Tax measures can be an important tool in implementing environmental policy, by taxing goods or services which harm the environment and incentivising businesses and citizens to change their behaviour. The exchequer departments administer four taxes with explicit environmental objectives (environmental taxes) - Climate Change Levy; Carbon Price Support; Landfill Tax; and Aggregates Levy. These taxes raised £3.1 billion in 2019. The government plans to introduce a fifth - the Plastic Packaging Tax - from April 2022.

When designing environmental taxes, the exchequer departments carry out many important practices the NAO would expect, such as consulting with stakeholders and ensuring taxpayers get advance warning so they can prepare. However, they do not quantify all costs and rarely specify how they will measure environmental impact to allow Parliament to assess if taxes are meeting their objectives.

The NAO has found that HMRC only has limited insight into the environmental impact of taxes. HMRC has formally evaluated the impact of Landfill Tax but has not carried out any further evaluations of the impact of environmental taxes. In 2020, HMRC developed a single strategy for reducing the risks that environmental taxes are not paid. However, HMRC only has a partial understanding of the tax gap (the gap between tax due and collected) for three of the four environmental taxes.

Landfill Tax has reduced use of landfill sites significantly, but it has also incentivised more illegal disposal of waste. Between 1998 and 2014 HM Treasury increased the standard rate of Landfill Tax by 700% in real terms, contributing to a 65% fall in total waste to landfill over the period. However, HMRC estimates that the misclassification of waste at authorised landfill sites and waste disposed at unauthorised sites reduced Landfill Tax revenue by around £275 million (28% of tax due) in 2018-19. This figure does not include any revenue lost from illegal exports of waste and fly- tipping. HMRC has sought to reduce tax lost by increasing its compliance work and extending the scope of the tax to unauthorised sites. In 2020, government established a waste crime unit, including HMRC, to tackle the illegal disposal of waste. www.TwickenhamTribune.com 12th February 2021 - Page 44 www.RichmondTribune.com In addition to the four environmental taxes, there are other taxes that have an impact on the environment, such as fuel duty and Air Passenger Duty, which do not have an explicit environmental objective. The exchequer departments told the NAO that they measure the performance of these taxes primarily in terms of revenue raised. However, they are increasingly considering their environmental impact, for example in the 2020 Budget it was announced that the government would restrict entitlement to the reduced rate of fuel duty on diesel used in off-road vehicles, specifically to improve air quality and reduce CO2 emissions.

More widely, HMRC has not identified the tax reliefs which could impact on government’s environmental goals. From published material, the NAO has identified eight tax reliefs with a specific environmental goal or purpose, including a lower rate of VAT for the installation of energy saving equipment (which cost around £70 million in 2019-20). The NAO also identified that five of the largest 25 tax reliefs supporting government’s wider objectives could impact on the cost of producing or consuming products made from or using fossil fuels. Each of the five reliefs cost between £2 billion and £5 billion in 2019-20.2 The NAO recommends that the exchequer departments should identify and monitor existing tax measures with a significant environmental impact.

The exchequer departments do not centrally oversee how the tax system impacts on government’s environmental goals. While the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) have overall responsibility for government’s environmental objectives, HM Treasury is responsible for strategic oversight of the tax system. There are good examples where planned changes to tax measures were considered in environmental strategies developed by Defra and BEIS, but the different routes for announcing tax and regulation and spending decisions make government- wide approaches challenging to develop.

In November 2019 HM Treasury began a review, which will conclude in 2021, into how the transition to net zero should be funded. The review’s interim report highlights that tax, regulation and spending are all important tools to support government’s efforts to get to net zero. The final report will look in more detail at how HM Treasury could incorporate climate considerations into spending reviews and fiscal events, and how to embed the principles of the review into policy making across government. HM Treasury and HMRC have told the NAO the report will also look at the environmental impact of other tax measures which do not necessarily have the environment as a core objective.

Gareth Davies, the head of the NAO, said: “Taxes are one of the tools available to government in pursuing its ambitious environmental goals. While there is some evidence of the positive impact that taxes can have on the environment, too little is known about their effect. “HMRC and HM Treasury should work closely with other departments to ensure that existing and future tax measures are compatible with the wider environmental strategies being developed across government. HM Treasury’s review of how the transition to net zero will be funded is an important first step in this process.”

You can read the full report HERE www.TwickenhamTribune.com 12th February 2021 - Page 45 www.RichmondTribune.com 223 editions of the Twickenham & Richmond Tribune online - Lots to read: News, Reviews, History, Sports and On-going Sagas in the Borough of Richmond upon Thames

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